But, according to the secretary of state's campaign-finance database, this is the first time Koch Industries has given money to a legislative candidate here (at least going back to 2007, which is when the database was established).

Koch Industries is owned by the billionaire brothers, David and Charles Koch, who give to a wide variety of causes, as The New Yorker recently detailed in a profile of the pair. David Koch founded Americans For Prosperity, a group that has been closely allied with Tea Party activists around the country.

For Knopp, the Koch cash is just another example of his fundraising prowess that has given him a big financial advantage over Telfer. He's now reported raising $130,000 since he started his campaign two months ago. She's raised just over $37,000 this year, although she had also raised another $54,000 last year before she had an opponent.